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Way back in June of 1998, the Los Angeles Times had an article entitled "Joy Rides - 10 scenic bike trails for real people." Coming in at #8 was "The Milk Run." It was a 16 mile round trip through the Ojai Valley starting at Foster Park. Being the real people that we are, my wife and I rode it a year or two later during a vacation to Ventura.
Today that trail is known as the Ojai Valley Trail, and from the photos on the Rails to Trails site it looks just as beautiful as twenty years ago and appears to have had some nice upgrades added too.
I recall lots of trees, a rural atmosphere, a gentle incline, and being able to pretty much coast much of the way back to Foster Park!
(BTW: I've racked my brain and done some research, but I can't remember or find why it was referred to as The Milk Run)
This trail has two parallel sides. We parked at West Creek Park – a lovely park about a mile south of the northern most trailhead on the western section. This beautiful park had nice restrooms, water and plenty of parking. The trail is often lined with a white fence passing through some residential and some commercial areas. The western section is less scenic than the eastern section and passes through more commercial sections. One of the good things about the western section is that it passes a shopping center that has the best breakfast restaurant in Santa Clarita: Eggs N Things. The western section connects to the South Fork Trail and that connects to the eastern section of the San Francisquito Creek Trail so you can easily do a loop ride. The eastern section ends at the same road (Copper Hill Drive) as the western section. It is a short distance over a bridge to connect back to the western section. In between the two segments is dry river bed. The eastern section is much prettier passing through a residential area with greenery planted on the side. Going north on either section is slightly uphill, which means downhill going south! There is a separate pedestrian path and two-lane bike path. The path is smooth, well maintained and very good for running, walking, biking and rolling on anything.
Connected to this path from the Obern Trail (see comments for that trail). Rode to end of trail. Trail follows along creek and through residential areas, although stays within the green space. Trail is paved and like others in area not real wide but does the job. Noted a number of connector trails and would have been fun to have more time to explore these connections. Maybe next time.
After a short warm up on the Goleta Beach Trail (see comments for that trail), started ride from Goleta Beach Park and rode to end at Arroyo Road. Signage for the trail indicates this as Obern Trail, didn’t seen any signage for Atascadero Creek. The trail is paved, most of it is just wide enough for travel both directions but not a wide trail. The trail is older needing some overdue maintenance. We encountered a number of walkers and other bikers using the trail. Wasn’t a problem navigating around them. Trail is along the green space next to creek and away from traffic. Nice to have a quiet place without traffic. We connected to the Maria Ygnacio Bike Path from the Obern Trail (see comments for that trail).
Began ride at Goleta Beach Park and rode trail to UCSB and back. Trail is short and fine for connecting to UCSB. Otherwise not anything to brag about. We used this as a short warm up for the next trail starting from the park. See comments for Atascadero Creek Trail (Obern Trail).
Started our ride at west parking lot of Shoreline Park. Needed to ride the bike lane on the street before connecting to the actual bike path at east end of park. The bike path is paved but not real wide but does work, a wider path would be better for walkers and bikers. We rode to the end of the path at the bird refugee. This path is nice for a slow cruise along the beach front. Plan to dodge the many walkers on the bike path, a number of them aren’t paying any attention to the bike traffic. It seems like maybe the planners got the main section of the path reversed. All the walkers want to be on the bike path which is closest to the beach rather than the wide sidewalk 25 feet further away from the beach. If needing to ride fast, there is a nice designed bike lane on the street.
This bike trail is a great ride, however, as of the date of this review, parts of it are under construction and closed. It's best to catch this trail at the south end near the San Fernando/Figueroa intersection as it will give you the best ride before hitting a trail closure at Colorado Blvd. You will not be able to ride all the way through to Griffith Park. The northern Griffith Park leg of the trail is open, but much of it detoured away from the LA river as this part of the trail is officially closed (but accessible from a broken chainlink fence).
The trail has it's fair share of homeless folks scattered about, but they are harmless. There are some cafes along the southern end of the trail that caters to the people both riding bikes and walking the trail.
Clean, sunny and breezy. Well-marked and safe. Lots of murals and statues as well as trees and plants along the way. Street parking without pay meters. Definitely recommend.
The Ventura River Trail and the Ojai Valley Trail combine to allow a bicyclist to ride from downtown Ventura to downtown Ojai. It is a very nice ride. The trail goes slightly uphill from the coast to Ojai (approximately 800 feet of elevation gain). Suitable for all ages and abilities.
The trail section through Ventura goes through the industrial area initially constructed during the heyday of the oil boom of the 1920s. Not beautiful; but still interesting. Foster Park, approximately 6 miles from the start in Ventura, is an excellent rest stop (bathrooms, water, views of the Ventura River). Just above Foster Park is a very cool bike bridge at the Ventura River. The remainder of the trail to Ojai offers beautiful views of the mountains, the river valley, and broad landscapes. Libbey Park in Ojai has water, bathrooms, shade, and playgrounds for kids.
The coast end of the trail connects to the Omer Rains bike path which will bring cyclists to the beach. Plenty of options for a full day of cycling and enjoying the Ventura and Ojai areas.
The bike trail is Class I and car-free. However, there are streets that cross the trail and cyclists must be cautious and stop at every crossing if there are cars.
Rode this for the first time this week and it was a lovely ride. Down and back I managed 28 miles on the path, from around Redondo to Washington Blvd and back. It was a very nice ride, with great views, and it was easy to forget you were still in LA. Parts of it were 8 mph speed limit due to higher trafficked areas and there are parts where you may have to get off and walk your bike depending on what events are happening off the strand. It wasn’t terribly busy when I went, but I’m sure it does get that. Some sand on the path but not enough to make it terribly difficult on a road bike. Will be back!
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